Worldcrunch
GUANGZHOU — It has been three days since Zheng Yuling gave birth. Her breasts are as hard as stone and she is in great pain. She wishes she could breastfeed her baby. But the child is no longer there. And her husband, Chen Dafu, was arrested the day before for the crime of abandoning the […]
BEIJING — “Innovation” has become a favorite word for Chinese headline writers. From individuals to private firms and even public institutions, everybody and everything aims to be an innovator. Though the OECD Economic Outlook 2014 predicted that China will probably become the country in the world which invests most in Research and Development (R&D) within […]
BEIJING — Beginning in January, China will abandon harvesting organs from executed prisoners, and organs needed for transplants will all come from donations, authorities have announced. Many Chinese don’t necessarily understand the profound meaning of this reform. Five years ago, I was personally involved in developing a report entitled, “Where Do Organs Come From?” published […]
BEIJING — This year’s China Hi-Tech Fair, held last month in the southern city of Shenzhen, included for the first time a pavilion dedicated to smart cities. During the event, participants also unveiled China’s first “standard for smart cities,” which will be tested starting in January in eight chosen pilot cities and industrial parks. A […]
A farmer from northwest China makes a living scouring the Yellow River to recover dead bodies, most of whom were poor migrants, often women and children. A modern Chinese tragedy.
China has proposed making revisions to the country’s policy of punishing couples who have more than one child. But instead, such population controls should be abolished entirely.
In recent days, China’s foreign retailers have one after another made headlines. While Tesco is withdrawing its brand from China, Walmart announced a layoff of more than 100 staff, including dozens of senior managers. Meanwhile, Carrefour is transforming itself into a convenience store to survive. BEIJING — After 10 years in China, Tesco, the world’s […]
France knows the place, China has the money, and now a major joint investment fund for Africa is in the works between Paris and Beijing to help drive the continent’s economic expansion.
SHANGHAI — Every summer, the little town of Yulin in southeastern China celebrates the summer solstice by tasting local dishes: lychees (a Chinese fruit) in alcohol, for example, and, perhaps the favorite main course delicacy, dog meat. Dog carcasses are visibly displayed on street stalls — for now. But last year, animal rights activists began […]
More and more Chinese are going under the knife for cosmetic reasons, and many admit that they do it for a very specific quest for a spouse or job.
The so-called congestion charges that have been levied in London and other major cities are being closely considered in the Chinese capital, which has serious pollution and traffic issues.
Chinese public and private enterprises are looking abroad, and expanding ever more into higher technology industries. It will reshape the future for China, and the world.
Beijing wants to control nearly half the world’s robot production by 2020, but the plans to get there have some fundamental flaws. There may still be time to reprogram it all.
Gays and lesbians rarely come out of the closet in a society that has more generally been ‘anti-sex’ since the Communists took over.
BEIJING — The Mexican government announced Nov. 4 that it had awarded its first high-speed rail contract to a Chinese-led consortium. But as the exciting news was still buzzing in the Chinese press, Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto suddenly canceled the deal five days later. As the media later reported, the consortium led by China […]
BEIJING — The world now produces over four billion tons of waste every year. China buys some of it — mainly scrap metal, plastic and paper — to feed demand from factories and construction companies. Here on Dongzhimenwai, a street in downtown Beijing, people gather to sell their waste. Old ladies line up with carts of plastic bottles, stacks of newspapers and even bits of toys and metal kitchenware they’ve collected. The plastic bottles are melted down to make everything from acrylic clothing to electronics. Buyer Liu Aiguo explains what happens to this so-called trash once it’s in his hands. […]
Already more than 7,000 beds, Zhengzhou’s ‘Super Hospital’ now has plans to expand to serve 10,000. Is this the best approach to health care in a booming China?
The recent purchase of the Waldorf Astoria by a Chinese company recalls Japanese companies’ buying sprees 30 years ago. And that didn’t end well.
Though China remains the world leader in use of capital punishment, for the second time in three years, the list of capital crimes may be reduced. But authorities may face popular backlash.
What happens when the rice v. wheat debate arrives in a land that has been eating the white stuff for 12,000 years.
Of all the boats I’ve ever seen, to me the bamboo rafts on the Li River seem the most hazardous.
China may be Africa’s largest trade partner and investor, but what China brings to the table is often regarded as sloppy, thoughtless and inconsistent with African values.
Haiphong, the third largest Vietnamese city, could become a new Asian transport hub to compete with Hong Kong and Singapore.
BEIJING — After a development period of more than 10 years, and with final approval from the China Food and Drug Administration, Guangzhou Baiyunshan Pharmaceutical Co. has just launched a generic erectile dysfunction drug based on Viagra, to be sold at half the price. At the press conference for the launch of “Jinge” (literally meaning […]
Contrary to the West, where obesity rates are higher in poorer, less well-educated areas, China’s overweight youth are from wealthy families. It has been dubbed a “disease of affluence.”
News around the world that counts…
In its bid to root out financial corruption, China’s government is hunting down fugitive suspects from Canada to Colombia, U.S. and Australia.
Learning Mandarin is just part of the Facebook founder’s ambitious but subtle strategy to return to the Chinese market. Huo Yuanjia (and Ang Lee) would be proud.
As China holds its 18th CCP Fourth Plenary Session with the theme of the “rule of law in China,” it is clear that the corrupt system that fueled the country’s economic boom is bankrupt.
Looking to build their branding and attract a more global audience, Chinese companies are increasingly eyeing the major European soccer leagues.
BEIJING — According to Beijing Youth Daily, soap made from breast milk is one of China’s latest fads. Just type in “breast milk soap” on Taobao, China’s biggest e-commerce site, and 88 pages of breast milk-related products are in display. Apart from those selling soaps made with the breast milk of new mothers — at […]
-OpEd- BEIJING — There has been a recent spate of Chinese celebrities, including Jaycee Chan, son of the Hong Kong martial arts film star Jackie Chan, detained on drug charges. Others in the entertainment business have been accused or frequenting prostitutes. Last week, China’s State Administration of Radio, Film and Television (SARFT) issued a formal […]
Chinese and German leaders met last week to further extend economic ties. Yet in the shadow of Hong Kong, issues like espionage, democracy and competition make for a fragile relationship.
A Siberian tiger released into the wild by Russian President Vladimir Putin has attacked a henhouse in northeastern China, raising concerns that farmers may now have to hunt it down, according to Chinese media reports quoted by the AP. The official Xinhua news agency says the animal, known as Kuzya, was believed to have eaten […]
The automobile market in China is at full throttle, but customers are extremely fickle. What are automakers – foreign and domestic – supposed to do to build brand loyalty?
While newspapers have been heavily censored, real discussion is taking place on Weibo, China’s version of Twitter, and other online forums. But even there, someone is keeping watch.
BEIJING — Chinese President Xi Jinping’s state visit to India this month was the perfect opportunity to watch the “dance of the dragon with the elephant.” This visit was extremely important to both nations. China, in the face of its difficult diplomatic predicament in the South China Sea and the East China Sea as well […]
The sense of unraveling across the globe is the result of a power vacuum. After the post-Cold War end of U.S. hegemony, no one is ready to impose order. And, no, economics can’t fix it.
Two writers explore the evolution of the Jewish and Chinese experiences, at home and abroad, finding lessons from what the two cultures share in common, and what they don’t.